Freshman
by SonadowStories
Summary: SONADOW! SHADOW UKE! Rated M just to be safe. Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, gets fired from his job at G.U.N as he, by law, is still supposed to be in school. Therefore he gets send to the local high school and meets up with Sonic. At first he's reluctant to dive into his new life as a student, but as he learns more about Sonic, he thinks this may not be such a bad idea after all.
1. Chapter 1

**Freshman: Chapter 1**

**Shadow's POV**

School was a place of knowledge and learning. Children were send there to achieve the skills and knowledge they needed later in life for when they had to live independently. Of course, alot of these necessary skills were also taught by parents and guardians, but they could not provide you with all the knowledge you needed.

That was why it was mandatory for people to go to school. So of course, experimental hedgehogs who were recently officially considered to be civilians were expected to go to school aswell.

And that was the reason why I was fired from my job at G.U.N and standing in front of a local high school.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy! Just think of it as a break away from G.U.N." Rouge stated as she noticed the expression I wore. She knew that I regretted the day my first day at school would come and she had tolerated it as she knew how much I liked that job, but now she found that it was time I let it go and just enjoy my time in school.

"hmpf!" A huff was all I answered. It was the only answer I had provided her with ever since I woke up this morning. And frankly, she had about enough of it.

"Seriously, Shadow? You can stop being so childish now." She said.

"Well, apparently I still am a child. So I get to be childish as much as I want." I moped, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Oh come on, hun. Are you really still made at me? You know that there was nothing I could do to make the Commander change his mind." She said.

"We are partners, Rouge! I belong in Team Dark too! You could've atleast tried something, couldn't you?!" I yelled.

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen and get your butt in there!" Rouge grumbled in annoyence. She knew that it was really about time I got into class. They had already told us it was okay to come in later and she didn't want to prolong it any more than necessary.

"I'm a drama queen? Well, just keep in mind that I learned from the best." I retorted, after which my dear housemate, Rouge, grabbed me by my upper arm and practically dragged me into the building, not wanting to waste another second standing around outside of the school while I was needed within.

After Rouge had practically dragged me inside the school building, we made our way to the secretary's office as that is where Rouge remembered you were supposed to go ask for your schedule first and then go to your class. I guess, I shouldn't questio Rouge. She had gone to school before, not me. She should know what to do. And during the time I spend at home while Rouge searched me a school, after I was fired from G.U.N, she made sure that I knew I could come to her whenever something troubled me. She knew how harsh high school could be sometimes.

"Ah! Is this the new student? Shadow Robotnik, I believe?" A woman, who I assumed was the secretary, asked. I answered with a simple nod.

I had always been a bit quiet towards strangers. That is, unless I absolutely felt like saying something. My social awkwardness, as Rouge called it, was something that was sure to get me in trouble. According to Rouge that is.

"Well, here's your schedule for this year. The class your in is class 1-C, which is up the stairs and down the hall. They should be in the middle of their English class right now." The secretary quickly informed us before answering a call on the telephone.

I looked at Rouge as we walked away.

"English? People still have English in high school? I thought being able to read and write was a given by now." I stated. The ability to read and write was taught in elementary school, right? That's what Gerald told me when he taught me about the alphabet when I was at the age of six. So why did people still study English in high school.

"Of course, they know how to read and write! In high school they just teach students the right forms of sentences, read English books and other stuff that has to do with English." She explained.

Or atleast tried to.

Sure it hadn't been all that long since she graduated from high school herself, but her classes wasn't exactly something she had tried to remember. Rouge could name all her boyfriends, her friends, heartbreak, friends' lovers, friends' heartbreaks and cute teachers. But ask her about a class and she wouldn't be able to tell you.

"I see." I simply muttered, although I still didn't really see the point of having an English class.

I decided to look at my schedule instead.

_'First period - English. Second - Mathematics. Lunch break... Is this really my week from now on? Seems a bit dull.'_ I thought as my eyes quickly scanned over all the classes I would have for five days a week now. Usually I'd work from Monday to Sunday. And now I had school from Monday to Friday and free on Saturday and Sunday. I think this will prove to be quite a change.

Rouge and I followed the secretary's instructions and walked up the stairs. It took a bit of searching, but we did eventually find the classroom I was supposed to be.

"I guess, this is it." I sighed as I read the '1-C' on a little plague that adorned the door.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic. It's only for four years." Rouge said as we came to a stop. She turned around to face me.

When I didn't answer, she decided to speak up once more.

"Think about it this way. You've never really had the chance to be a normal teenager, right? Just look at this as the opportunity to finally have some fun and be normal!" She said with an encourging smile as she placed her hands on my shoulders.

I sighed again. She was right. I had been a normal baby, toddler and little kid. Gerald was my parent and Maria my sister. The latter and me were both taught by the former. We played and everything!

But as soon as I reached the age of ten, normal was something that didn't apply to me anymore. Maybe Rouge was right. Maybe I should give this an honest chance and see this as a opportunity.

"Okay, I'll try my best." I answered, after which Rouge captured me in a hug.

"Be good, okay? Don't get in trouble and don't pick fights. And don't forget what the Commander said. NO Chaos Control of any kind!" She lectured after we broke away.

"I know, I know. No Chaos Control, Spear, Blast or any other attack I might have up my sleeve because the Commander would personally see to my punishment." I said, reciting every word he had said the day he fired me.

"Exactly! Now get your butt in there and enjoy school!" Rouge told me wholeheartedly before she knocked on the door with a few rapid knocks before she walked down the hallway. She quickly waved her goodbye to me before turning around the corner and leaving me to stand here alone.

I stood there for a couple of minutes in silence, debating weither or not I should change my mind now and Chaos Control back to the Commander's office and demand my job back when the door to classroom 1-C opened. A young human woman stood on the other side.

"Oh? Is this the new student we were expecting? Come on in." She said with a smile as she took a step aside. Was she my English teacher? She seemed friendly enough. After hearing all these tales of horrible and strict teachers, I had expected to see something completely different.

I did as I was told and walked inside. As I did so, I heard an audible gasp coming from one of the students. Once I stood in front of the classroom, I let my eyes quickly scan the faces of the teens who would be my fellow classmates from this day on. Every single one of them was a complete stranger to me.

Except for one familiar face.

_'Amy?'_ I asked myself mentally as I saw the familiar pink hedgehog stare right back at me in surprise.

Amy Rose, as her full name was, had always been an intriguing hedehog to me. Not because of her habit to chase her crush, Sonic, or because of the fact that her weapon of choice was a sledgehammer, you can say all you want, but her hammer was definitely not the ordinairy one used as an everyday tool.

It was because of what happened onboard the Space Colony Ark that day. I was so set on ending it all and yet she had somehow forced me to remember what Maria wanted and changed my mind. Nearly dying wasn't the only thing that stayed with me from that day. Ever since than she has always seemed a little intriguing to me.

"All right, class, this is your new classmate. His name is Shadow Robotnik and he will be joining us from today onward!" The English teacher happily announced as she clasped her hands together.

"Shadow, you may take your seat." She said, gesturing to the only empty seat they had added at the back of the class once the news of a new student had reached them. Coincidently it was right next to Amy.

I walked towards to the other side of the classroom to my goal, my appointed seat. I was somewhat glad to see that Amy's surprised stare had turned into a welcoming smile, but the stares of my fellow classmates had failed to escape me. Some of them seemed to think of my arrival as suspicious while others simply didn't know what to think. I couldn't blame them. I was, after all, the guy notorious for trying to destroy our beautiful homeplanet Mobius.

As I took a seat behind my desk, one that I mentally noted was much smaller than the one I had at G.U.N Headquarter, there was one thing made quite clear to me as I watched some of my new fellow students divert their stares away from me as they whispered to the person seated next to them.

This year was going to be quite an experience.


	2. Chapter 2

**Freshman: Chapter 2**

**Shadow's POV**

English class proved to be more interesting than I thought. Our teacher's lecture was about English literature and authors. It was actually a bit interesting. Not bad for a very first class in high school.

I let my fellow students' glances and whispers escape me, but I did notice Amy's curious glances. She looked like she really wanted to ask me something, but wasn't sure if she should. After she continued to stay silent, I figured that she would speak up later on.

After the first two hours of English I gathered my English textbook and stuffed it away in my shoulder bag before getting up from my seat, swinging the bag over my shoulder, planning to search for my next class. As I moved to leave the classroom, I found Amy standing just outside the door. She seemed to be waiting for me.

"Hey, Shadow! I didn't know you would be coming to school!" She said, obviously curious for the reason behind my sudden appearance at school in the middle of the year.

"Well, apparently I'm still supposed to be in school at my age. So Abraham decided to fire me so I can go to school instead." I explained, refusing to call the Commander by his title after he fired me for something as silly as the law.

"Really? The Commander fired you? Just like that? But I thought you were his best?" Amy asked as she placed her hands on her hips. It did seem a bit strange to her.

"I thought so too! But apparently he's glad to be rid of me for the next three years and a half!" I answered while I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Yeah, I guess I do still feel a bit angry about my disgraceful resignation. How dare he anyway? Couldn't I just find a way to combine school and work?

I asked Rouge that question once too and she blantantly refused even the thought of it. The reason? Why because I won't have any time for future boyfriends of course!

Well, Rouge just immediatly assumed that I was for the guys. Something about a woman's instinct telling her that. Upon hearing that statement and sceptically asked how she could be so sure, after which she responded with 'Of course you don't believe me! You haven't been outside of the laboratories long enough to discover all about attraction and sexuality! Just wait until you do finally start school!'

Rouge seemed pretty convinced with her assumption so I didn't bring it up again.

"Let's go! If we don't go now all the benches will be taken!" Amy, as energetic as always, took my hand and practically dragged me down the hall. What is it with people dragging me all over the place today?

"Amy? Why are we going outside? I thought we were supposed to go to our next class now?" I asked as Amy pulled me outside. It seemed odd to me that we would leave the building when we were actually supposed to do to our mathematics class. Or was this a shortcut I didn't know about yet?

"Of course not! Math can wait! Now we have a fifteen minute break!" She said as she came to a sudden stop, making me bump into her. Thankfully, neither one of us ended up on the ground as she was surprisingly strong on her feet.

I guess it shouldn't have been all that much of a surprise. She does wield a pink hammer of doom, more commonly known as her Piko Piko Hammer, heavier than herself. If she hadn't been so strong, she would've fallen over every single time she swung that thing!

The hold she had as she held my hand as if I was a little child who might run away in the blink of an eye also told quite a story. She had a hard grip. Maybe that's why Sonic didn't like being hugged by her? Because she was a little too careless?

I watched the pink hedgehog in front of me as her head slowly moved from one side to another. She seemed to be looking for something by the way her eyes scanned the school courtyard. It seemed difficult to try and search for something or someone through the thick crowd of students. I was surprised to see the amount of students there were in this school. Are there really this many?

"There they are!" Amy suddenly shouted as she spotted what she was looking for and pulled me along again. I followed without complaint. I assumed that she was looking for that bench she had mentioned once before, but as I noticed golden twin tails and a set of blue quills up ahead, I knew that I was wrong.

"Sonic! You'll never believe who has decided to come to school today!" Amy stated as she pulled me next to her, albeit a bit too roughly.

"Shadow!" Tails called my name is surprise as he wore a smile. Just like his pink, he seemed just as happy and cheerful all the time. Although, 'always happy and cheery' seemed to be the general norm in Sonic's group of friends.

And speaking of the blue devil, the blue blur himself shot up from his seat on a grey, plastic-looking bench most likely made of recycled waste. An expression of shock and disbelieve was apparent on his features.

"Faker?!" The tone of his voice backed up the surprise he felt.

"Hedgehog?" I said as I was quite surprised myself. Why was Sonic here of all people? Didn't all that hero business get him the money he needed? So why did he still go to school? For personal reasons?

"What're you doing here?" Sonic asked. Just like Amy, he wanted to know why I had showed up at school.

"What am I doing here? What're you doing here?" I asked as I wanted some answers aswell. I really don't like not knowing and I absolutely hated it if someone kept me in the dark about something. Especially if it's something that turns out to be important.

"What do you mean? I go to school for an education and a diploma. Now what's your excuse?" He asked.

"I was fired and send to school." I briefly said.

"What why?" Tails asked as a frown replaced his smile. Sonic seemed curious to know aswell.

I sighed as I had already explained to Amy not even a minute ago. I wouldn't mind explaining it to them, but I do hope that this is he last time.

"I was fired because I am still supposed to be in school at my age. I can just go back once I have graduated." I explained, silently hoping not many people would keep asking the same question over and over again.

"Oh, Shadow! That reminds me! You have never told us your age." Amy said right as Tails was about to comment on my explanation. But as he didn't try to bring it up again, I decided to answer to Amy's question. One of Sonic's eyebrows raised as he was pretty curious to.

"Well... I'm... fif-something..." I muttered as I glanced at everything except for the people standing near me. Yeah, I think I do feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Excuse me?" Sonic said as he hadn't understood what I had said. Neither of them had.

I sighed once more.

"I... might be fifteen... I'm not sure." I repeated, only this time a little louder. The three Mobians in front of me stared at me in shock.

"What? How can you not know your own age?" Amy asked before Tails could. Sonic stayed silent despites wanting to know too.

"W-Well..." I wasn't exactly sure I would want to tell them. I mean, it was a little embarrassing to not know your own age.

Amy and Tails just kept looking at me in silence as they expected an answer from me.

"You know... You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Sonic decided to step in as he noticed that I was visibly getting uncomfortable, something that I didn't easily show.

Hearing him say that I should tell them this piece of information of my own choice made it alot easier for me to speak. I felt the urge to smile a little.

"Well... After the raid on the Space Colony Ark and I was put away on Prison Island... I sort off lost track of time. Accordig to Abraham I had just turned fifteen when I was put in suspended animation. That's why I think I'm fifteen." I explained, albeit a reluctantly.

"Really? Oh, that reminds me of something else!-" Amy wanted to ask me another question, but she never got to finish as a loud ringing noise resonated through the whole courtyard. It was the same ringing that I had heard twice before. Once during English class and once when it ended.

"Is it right to assume that the bell signals the end of an hour or break?" I asked, silently thankful that the attention was now diverted from my age.

"And it also tells us when school begins and ends." Tails added in case I hadn't figured that out for myself.

After the bell had stopped ringing I could hear several students around me groan in either dismay or annoyence. I didn't see why. It was just sitting on your butt and listening to a teacher. What was to dislike about that? Well, besides the obvious that alot of people might find it boring.

Slowly , but surely, the student mass dwindled as they made their way back inside the building. Amy motioned for me to follow her as she was sure I didn't know the way back to our classroom just yet.

"I guess we better get back to class." Sonic muttered to no one in particular. He seemed a little reluctant.

That was a bit odd.

Just like 'Always Happy and Cheery' was pratically the norm of their group, so was 'Do Everything As Enthousiastic As Possible!' Or it seemed that way with the way they always seemed to dive into each adventure and battle. This group definitely had something with positive attitudes.

That was why I found it so odd to see Sonic so reluctant when he usually dove head first into ... Well... Everything really! I wondered what the reason behind that was.

"Shadow, we'll be late." Amy said when I had failed to respond to her gesture to follow. Because of that, she once more took my hand and dragged me back to class with that tight grip of hers.

I wanted to ask Sonic what was wrong, but he and Tails were already gone. Guess I can find out later on once lunch break arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

**Freshman: Chapter 3**

**Shadow's POV**

"Am I glad that class is over!" Amy half groaned, half shouted as we left the classroom after two hours of math.

"I didn't think it was all that bad." I answered. It was just math. What was so bad about a class of numbers?

Amy didn't seem to like my answer.

"Of course, you don't think it's all that bad! You were raised by a scientist who made the Ark, the Eclipse Cannon and you! Of course, Math isn't difficult for you!" She responded. I guess I can understand Amy's dislike for this class.

When I was done with the questions our Mathematics teacher, a sour looking older woman, I killed the time by looking around the classroom until I was given another task. And as I had glanced at Amy a couple of time, it was obvious to me that she was struggling with this particular subject. Maybe she didn't like Math because it was so difficult to her?

I huffed as I heard her reason behind why Math wasn't such a problem for me.

"Me being raised by a scientist has nothing to do with it, Rose. And if Math really is such a problem for you than why don't you just ask someone to help you?" I asked.

I woud've offered my help, but it had become clear to me in the beginning of that class that the teacher wouldn't allow a single word to be uttered. When class had started, a couple of classmates had attempted to converse with one another, which the Math teacher had quickly put an end to with the help of more homework for the whole class. The simultaneous complaint of our class had nearly given us more extra work.

I did find the punishment the teacher gave us was a little too exagerated, though. Why punish a whole class when the fault lied in just a few? And no, I did not think that because I got punished on my very first day of school. Okay, maybe I was a little bit angry. How was I going to explain to Rouge that I got so much homework? Surely she would notice the abnormaly large heap of homework! How was I too explain that it wasn't my fault?!

"Anyway, we should probably get to the cafeteria. Sonic and Tails are probably already there waiting for us." Amy said as she walked down the now nearly empty hallways. I followed her quietly, thankful that she didn't drag me to our destination like she had done twice before earlier today.

It was surprising to see how closely the school resembled G.U.N just because it was lunch. Whenever lunch break had arrived back at the Headquarters, practically everyone raced to the cafeteria. Some did it to get the best seats while others did it in order to get a plate of food that was still warm. Rouge and I just mainly shared our meal in the peace and silence of our office.

The reason behind that was actually me.

Along with what Rouge had called 'social awkwardness', I had anoter problem. After spending nearly all my life in the laboratories onboard the Ark and later down in the lower levels of G.U.N bases ever since birth, it was quite overwhelming to be let loose into the world and be welcomed by such a big crowd. As I had mainly spend time in silence alone or with very few people around, I didn't exactly like crowds and loud noises.

Rouge soon came to learn about it somewhere after we began to work together for Abraham. And soon after she suggested that we could eat our lunch in our office. I appreciated that. I really did. And I had let her know that! Even though she often said she suggested it because the ruckus our colleagues made was an absolute nightmare for her sensitive hearing.

As Amy and I walked into the cafeteria and I found this place to be very similar to G.U.N's cafeteria, although I've only been there once or twice.

I followed her to stand in line while I took a look around the room. Just as I had expected, it was busy and incredibly noisy in here. Although, not as bad as I'm used too. The blame was most likely to be found with the fact that teachers were around. I think these students would be much noisier if they weren't present.

But from all the noisemakers in this cafeteria, only one table bothered me.

"Oh, there is Sonic!" Amy stated as she lead me to their usual table. Well, their usual table if it wasn't already taken.

Amy took a seat next to Sonic while I took the one opposite to him. Tails was here aswell, he was sitting on Sonic's other side.

As soon as the two of us had taken a seat, the three of them began to talk about their past classes. I would've let them if there wasn't something bothering me.

"Who are they over there?" I asked, refering to a table a little away from us. It was occupied by this red fox, a green hedgehog and who I assume to be their friends.

Sonic looked up to see who I was talking about before concentrating back on his lunch. Suddenly he seemed a bit annoyed that I brought them up. He stayed silent, though.

"No comment?" I asked.

"No comment." He repeated.

That was weird.

I shot Amy a questioning look.

"That fox's name is Fiona and the hedgehog's name is Scourge. They are kind of the troublemakers in school." She said.

"Scourge is actually just as fast as Sonic!" Tails decided to add.

Ah, is that true? Maybe that was the reason why Sonic was so dismissive towards them?

"No kidding? So Sonic isn't the only one who's fast. Is that why you're so upset?" I teased. It was just a harmless tease. We were rivals so it was fine.

"It's true, Faker, I may not be the only one who's fast, but atleast neither one of us faked it." Sonic wasted no time in retorting back. Without a doubt he was refering to my hoverskates, which I lost after our adventure up in space.

"Fair enough." I muttered and focussed back on my lunch. Well, this little teasing match came to a quick end.

I could hear Sonic chuckle quietly.

Well, atleast his mood lightened up again.

I took a bite from my lunch. The taste surprised me. It tasted so bland, but at the same time it tasted like something. That something wasn't exactly good.

"Is this really food?" I muttered to myself.

"Yeah, school food is terrible." Sonic replied as he placed his spoon down.

"The meals are actually made by the students from the cooking classes. They make the meals and we get the leftovers that the cook mixes together in a soup and reheats. That's how I've heard it." Amy explained.

"So this is just one giant mix of all sorts of ingredients that weren't meant to be used together. No wonder it's so bad." I stated as I put my spoon down aswell, my appetite suddenly lost.

Suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It felt like I was being watched. I wanted to look around the cafeteria to see why I suddenly had that feeling, but my eyes immediatly settled on that one table. Scourge, I think that was the hedgehog's name according to Amy, was glaring at me with a smirk. He seemed amused about something. And so did that fox girl. Fiona I think her name was?

Tails noticed my staring.

"You better stay out of their way, Shadow. Usually new students don't catch their attention, but they've been staring at you ever since you walked into the cafeteria." He whispered. I don't know why he bothered to whisper. I'm sure they can't hear him.

"Why did I catch their attention? The Ark Incident?" I asked. If it was that, I sure wouldn't blame them. When I first started working at G.U.N, they had given me a hard time for that.

"Eh, no, not the Ark Incident. Believe or not, very little people actually know about you and the whole Ark business." Sonic said.

"Are you sure? My colleagues at G.U.N sure seemed to like reminding me about it." I said as I was a bit uncertain about his words. My ex-colleagues knew about it, so why wouldn't the rest of the world know. Although, I didn't exactly go outside much. Not unless I needed to go to work or when Rouge wanted me to go shopping for groceries.

"Yes, very sure." Sonic seemed very sure of it.

"But what about my classmates? When I walked into the room they stared at me like I was going to kill them or something!" I stated.

"Well... The combination of your fur colours is pretty unusual... And you looked like you were in a really bad mood." Amy decided to butt into the conversation again.

"So... people really don't know?" I asked. I could hardly care about what she had said about my fur colour.

"No, they don't. Why do you think I was charged with your crimes? G.U.N wanted to cover your existence up. By law you didn't exist until a little while ago." This time it was Sonic who answered.

That made me speechless for a good while.

So I technically never existed? That's not what Gerald had made me believe. And to top that off, Abraham Tower, who I've known for a great deal of my life ever since we met as young kids, had tried everything in his power to keep the fact that I was alive a secret.

What would've happened to me if it wasn't Eggman who had found me ever the Ark Incident. Would G.U.N have just locked me away and continued to act like I didn't exist while Eggman and Sonic and his whole gang believed that I was dead? From what I had heard, Sonic had felt incredibly guilty that he couldn't save me. That's what Rouge had told me.

Would G.U.N have really locked me back up to sleep and never see the daylight again while they let Sonic, the hero of this entire planet, wallow in guilt?

That's just cruel.

That actually hurt me.

"Shadow?" The hedgehog I had been thinking about was calling my name. One of his eyebrows were raised in question and slight concern.

I took a look around me as noticed that the students were slowly leaving the cafeteria. Apparently the bell had already gone off. Tails and Amy were nowhere to be found as they were already headed towards their next class. Boy, that was nice of her. I had no idea where I was supposed to be next!

"Excuse me, what're you doing?" I asked when I noticed that Sonic had been reaching for me. As soon as I had spoken, he drew his hand back.

"Well, I don't want to ruin your reputation of being expressionless, but you did look like you were getting a bit emotional after what I said. So I thought I might give you a friendly pat on the shoulder." He anwered with a frown. Having his attempt at comfort rejected didn't sit well with him.

"Thank you, but it's not needed." I thanked him.

"Are you sure? Because it did seem like I hit some strings with what I said." He didn't seem convinced when I told him his comfort wasn't needed.

I sighed. I admire his want to take care of those he considers to be his friends, but that just wasn't something that I wanted.

"Do you know where art class is?" I asked. If Amy didn't want to take me there, maybe Sonic could.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'll do what I can for 'A Werehog's Mate 2', but as those who watch me on DA already know, this story is mainly an attempt to get back to faster updates._

**Freshman: Chapter 4**

**Shadow's POV**

"So if it isn't because I'm a space terrorist, why do I need to stay out of this Scourge's and Fiona's way?" I asked as I had never really gotten an answer on my question.

"How do I put this... Fiona and her boyfriend don't exactly like me and they have tried to make life at school difficult for Tails, Amy and me. That's why we're telling you to stay out of their way. This is your first time going to school and we don't want it to be spoiled by them and their little gang." Sonic answered.

The two of us were calmly strolling through the corridors after Sonic had agreed to take me to class. I was already late for art class and I'm pretty sure Sonic is late for his own class aswell, but even so we weren't exactly in a hurry.

"If it's any comfort, I can take care of myself just fine. No need to worry." I reassured him.

"I know, I know. You're the Ultimate Lifeform and all of that. But still, if they are bothering you... No, if anything is bothering you, anything at all, than come straight to me." Even though, I had rejected his attempt at comfort just a little while earlier, he still made sure I knew I could always come to him for anything.

Sonic's a nice guy. He really is.

"And this should be it." Sonic said as we stopped in front of a door. It was practically on the other side of the building compared to where my classroom was situated. Why did these two classrooms have to be so far apart? The unneeded extra distance would only serve to make this labyrinth of a school even more confusing for me.

"Thank you for bringing me." I gratefully told him. I don't think I would've been able to find this room so easily without his help.

"No problem! You should probably get inside, it's already late." Sonic said.

"In that case you should probably go to your own class before you get in trouble." I replied. It was nice that he wanted to help me, but it wouldn't do him much good if it got him in trouble.

"The teacher knows I'm fast, I'm sure he'll think something's the matter if I fail to show up in time. See ya later!" Sonic told me his goodbye before dissapearing in the blink of an eye.

Once he had vanished from sight, I knocked on the door and entered the classroom after hearing a muffled 'come in' come from the other side. As I walked inside, I could tell that someone wasn't happy to see me.

"You're late." My apparent art teacher said as he watched me walk in with a frown and arms crossed in front of his chest. This guy was my first mobian teacher of the day! He was a dark grey cat who appeared to be in his late twinties or earlier thirties.

"Sorry, I had trouble finding the classroom." I muttered a quick apology only barely audible for the teacher as I passed him. I felt him grab my wrist, making me halt in my tracks and face him.

"I'm letting you off the hook for now, but don't think I will tolerate it next time you decide to come in late. Just because this is art class doesn't make it any less important than Math or chemistry." The teacher said before letting me go and continuing his class.

I shot him a glare at his back, as I really didn't appreciate the way he had just grabbed my wrist like that, before I took a seat somewhere in the back of the classroom, passing a few curious glances. The seat I had taken wasn't anywhere near Amy as she was sitting somewhere near the front, but it was only for one class so I didn't mind all that much.

I made myself comfortable on my new seat and tried my best to follow class, although I did miss quite alot from the beginning.

Apparently the class today was about different pencil strokes and ways of sketching. From softer strokes to harder and from soft sketching to more rougher sketches. I took my pencil and notebook and tried my best to copy from the black board, and it went fine at first, but then when went to the actual sketching of images and it quickly became clear to me that art wasn't exactly my area.

It was surprisingly hard and I could get nothing right! If this is what Amy feels like about Mathematics, than I understand why she hates the subject so much.

I was glad when that class had finally passed and break had arrived. I'd rather be with Sonic and Tails than spend another minute in that classroom.

"Wow, artclass was that bad, huh? You look like you're about to crash the Ark again." Sonic said upon me and Amy's arrival at their usual bench.

"Haha, very funny." I moped as I let my shoulderbag drop down on the ground before dropping myself on my chosen seat.

Sonic and Tails looked at Amy in confusion, wondering what was up with me.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Shadow just found something he's not exactly all that 'ultimate' in." The hedgehog they were watching in question answered.

"No kidding." Sonic replied sarcasticly as he looked over to me. I returned the favour by glaring at him.

"Just kidding." He muttered after I had begun to glare at him.

"Well, you can't be good at everything, right? That's impossible." Tails decided to speak up, noticing how tense I was about not being able to do something as simple as drawing. Well, it seemed like simple feat up until the moment I tried it out myself.

"I guess." I responded as I leant back against the back of the bench, my arms crossing in front of my chest aswell as my legs.

"Yeah, can't be perfect at everything. But hey! Atleast you're perfect at skating." Sonic stated, looking at me again with a light smirk.

"You really want me to punch you, don't you?" I stated more than I actually asked as I answered his smirk with a look of disinterest. It was still my first day at school, I wasn't going to make a fool of myself by getting into a fight already.

Amy and Tails both sighed simultaneously.

"Please, don't fight, you two." Amy had said while she sighed.

"There are only two more hours left. Don't you think you can atleast wait until school is over? I'm sure the teachers won't care if you fight off school property." Tails tried to reason with us.

"Don't worry, we're not fighting! Not physically, that is." Sonic said as he leant back on the bench and looked over at me.

As silence fell, Amy decided to put a quick stop to it by pulling her piece of artwork from her backpack and showed it to the three of us. She was very proud of it and I couldn't blame her. It looked great!

Which did make me feel a little envious of her.

The bell rang again. It was time for our last class of the day. I heard Sonic mutter something abot just how much he dislikes Math, so I'm guessing that was his and Tails' next class. Amy and I, on the other hand, had a nice class in History. It was a subject that I was particularly fond of, but my pink classmate had to quite literally be dragged down to our classroom, which I was glad to do after all the times I had been dragged around today.

Once we arrived in our destination, we both sought our seats and waited for our History teacher to come. Or in Amy case, endlessly talked to the nearest person. Me included.

When the teacher did enter the classroom, Amy sighed a little in dissapointment. I guess this wasn't one of her best subject either.

I have to admit, I did have alot of expectations with this particular subject. And guess what, it was a let down. I thought that the media's view of these classes were wrong, but they couldn't be any more closer to the truth. Not in this case, that is.

The teacher, an elderly man, just continued to talk and talk about the subject of the today. Which was the history of cars. A topic I wasn't exactly interested in myself. He just spoke endlessly about it in the same monotone voice that seemed to take forever to finished one sentence. It was... boring. And that came from someone who generally liked history!

Fellow students didn't seem to take well to his method of teaching. The long endless, monotone talking made them drowsy. And by the end of the first hour, I was trying my best not to yawn myself, failing miserably no matter how hard I tried.

I looked at the hedgehog sitting on my left to see how she was doing. Amy was leaning on her desk with her elbows, her head resting on her hands. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, like she could fall asleep any moment now.

She wasn't the only one, though. As I took a look around, I noticed that many of our classmates were on the verge of falling asleep. Some were even already gone! And the teacher didn't notice a thing! He just continued to ramble on and on about it.

The powerpoint he used, which had the most bland layout, text and pictures in the history of powerpoints, for some reason recquired killing the lights and bathing the classroom in total darkness except for the light coming from the projector. The darkness without a doubt contributing to the students dozing off.

I turned my gaze back to my notebook in front of me and noticed that I haven't noted anything down for quite a while. I was holding my pen in my left hand, ready for use, but I haven't written anything for the past ten minutes.

The sound of movement caught my ear, making it twitch and I turned my head to look at the source. Amy had given up her battle against sleep and let it conquer her. Her arms were crossed on the desk and her head rested upon them. Through the darkness I could see that her eyes were closed.

A sigh left my lips as I turned to look back at the man standing in front of class. I knew I had to stay awake, no matter how hard it was, but I was slowly losing the battle aswell. My eyelids were getting heavy and it became tempting to close them.

My conciousness was about to slip away.

Until the loud ringing of the bell shook us all awake.

Many of our classmates groaned as they stretched, yawned or woke up. Amy's head shot up from her desk with a yelp as she was shocked awake. My mind was cleared from the drowsiness now, but I still didn't exactly feel like standing up from my chair, the furniture suddenly feeling so comfortable compared to when I first walked into this class. But I knew that I had to go home.

"I'm so glad that the day is finally over!" Amy shouted gleefully as she stretched her arms and back before putting her stuff away in her backpack. She was about to zip the bag up when I brought our homework to her attention, making her pull all her stuff back out and write that down before she could finally pack up and leave the classroom along with me.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Shadow!" Amy shouted her goodbyes to me as she ran out of the school gates and out of sight.

As I left the black, metal gates myself, I couldn't help but feel a little happy with myself.

I had just finished my very first day at high school.


End file.
